Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3913 have ratified their first contract with Washington County.

Local 3913 represents about 30 employees at the Washington County Community Corrections Facility in Hillsboro. The union had been negotiating for over a year and workers had given 10 days’ notice and were preparing to strike March 6.

But a final round of bargaining with a mediator on March 3 resulted in a tentative deal. The proposal — an 18-month pact that extends through Sept. 30, 2007 — was ratified 3-to-1 by the membership on March 5.

Commissioners Tom Brian, chair; Dick Schouten, John Leeper, Vice Chair; Roy Rogers and Andy Duyck will vote on the deal on March 21.

The contract includes union security and seniority language, and the sides agreed to a wage comparison study for future reference. In exchange for a shorter contract (the county wanted a four-year deal), the corrections officers gave up seeking a cost-of-living adjustment retroactive to July 1, 2005, when all other county employees received one. The corrections officers’ got a COLA increase Jan. 14.

Because of the work they do, AFSCME believes the officers should be certified as a non-strikable bargaining unit, and the union will seek that status with the Oregon Employment Relations Board in 2007. As a non-strikable bargaining unit, an independent arbitrator would be called in to settle any dispute. 

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